I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9124 

To name the Department of Veterans Affairs community-based outpatient 

clinic in Auburn, California, as the ‘‘Louis A. Conter VA Clinic’’. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 24, 2024 

Mr. KILEY (for himself, Mr. LAMALFA, Mr. HARDER of California, Mr. 

DESAULNIER, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. DUARTE, Mr. MULLIN, Ms. 

LOFGREN, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. FONG, Mr. COSTA, Mr. VALADAO, Mr. 

OBERNOLTE, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. RUIZ, Mr. MIKE GARCIA of California, 

Ms. CHU, Mr. SCHIFF, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. SHERMAN, Ms. 

KAMLAGER-DOVE, Mr. TAKANO, Mrs. KIM of California, Mr. ROBERT

GARCIA of California, Mr. CORREA, Ms. JACOBS, and Mr. VARGAS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To name the Department of Veterans Affairs communitybased outpatient clinic in Auburn, California, as the 

‘‘Louis A. Conter VA Clinic’’. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress finds the following: 

5 (1) Louis ‘‘Lou’’ Anthony Conter was born on 

6 September 13, 1921, in Ojibwa, Wisconsin. 


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1 (2) Lt. Commander Lou Conter, the last re2 maining survivor of the attack on the USS Arizona 

3 at Pearl Harbor, was an American hero. 

4 (3) On that fearful day, Petty Officer Conter 

5 helped evacuate shipmates who were blinded, wound6 ed, or burned, even restraining some of his fellow 

7 shipmates from jumping overboard into the burning 

8 sea. 

9 (4) In the days after the attack, he helped with 

10 recovering bodies and putting out fires. Lou Conter’s 

11 heroic actions saved the lives of many of his ship12 mates on December 7, 1941. 

13 (5) Following Pearl Harbor, Conter continued 

14 serving during WWII in New Guinea and in Europe 

15 as an enlisted naval aviation pilot assigned to VP16 11, a ‘‘Black Cat’’ Squadron. 

17 (6) Lou Conter would be awarded with the Dis18 tinguished Flying Cross for actively taking part in 

19 the rescue of 219 Australians trapped by Japanese 

20 troops in New Guinea. 

21 (7) Later, in the Korean War, he served on the 

22 USS Bon Homme Richard as both an intelligence 

23 officer and a navy aviation pilot. Following his serv24 ice in the Korean War, he served as a military intel25 ligence advisor to three Presidents: Dwight D. EiVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:24 Aug 20, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9124.IH H9124

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1 senhower, John F. Kennedy, and Lyndon B. John2 son. 

3 (8) During the 1950s, Lou Conter played a 

4 prominent role in the establishment and development 

5 of the Navy Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Es6 cape (SERE) training program. 

7 (9) In addition to the Distinguished Flying 

8 Cross, he was awarded the Navy Commendation 

9 Medal and became the first recipient of the USS Ar10 izona Medal of Freedom. 

11 (10) Louis Conter retired from the Navy in 

12 1967 after serving 28 years as a Lieutenant Com13 mander. 

14 (11) Following his retirement, he generously 

15 gave his time to share his personal experiences at 

16 veterans’ ceremonies and by giving lectures to stu17 dents. 

18 (12) Lieutenant Commander Conter’s lectures 

19 were popular with generations of local students who 

20 were equally fascinated and enthralled by his first21 person accounts. 

22 (13) He is eminently deserving of recognition 

23 for his decades of service to a grateful nation. 

24 (14) Lieutenant Commander Conter passed 

25 away in Grass Valley, California on April 1, 2024. 


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1 SEC. 2. NAME OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 

2 COMMUNITY-BASED OUTPATIENT CLINIC, AU3 BURN, CALIFORNIA. 

4 The Department of Veterans Affairs community5 based outpatient clinic in Auburn, California, shall after 

6 the date of the enactment of this Act be known and des7 ignated as the ‘‘Louis A. Conter VA Clinic’’. Any reference 

8 to such clinic in any law, regulation, map, document, 

9 record, or other paper of the United States shall be consid10 ered to be a reference to the Louis A. Conter VA Clinic. 

Æ 


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